Ask TaxTim

SARS wants to audit a company that we bought 3 years ago. But the audit is for the year BEFORE the sale. The sale was "voetstoots", and the previous owner says they have nothing to do with the audit - they say we have to figure it out from the (incomplete) historical tax documents we were given when we bought the company. Is this true?

SARS have a right to audit the company going back 5 years and in some case even more. They would take it into account that you were not the owners of the business back then, but could still expect you to have some knowledge of the business as it can be presumed that you did some research into the business before buying it. I suggest speaking to SARS and asking what information they would need and are they able to contact the previous owners. Let them do the pushing.